"Grace?" It was the third time all day that I had head my first name and it was definitely weird. I wasn't used to being called anything but "Miss Simmons" everywhere I went. King had barged into my room like he owned it, which he technically did, and pulled me up from my seat.
"King I'm not-" I was about to reject him when he pulled me into a fierce hug. I almost suffocated from his unbelievable strength. I hit his arm with my hand as he squeezed my small frame.
"Joonyoung told me what happened! Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did he touch you? I'll KILL that guy!" King let me go and put a hand on his head as he paced around. I was almost too stunned to understand the words that had spewed from his mouth. Almost.
"Woah. What's your problem King?" I asked.
"Someone tried to kill my employee! What do you think is wrong?" He asked with a huff. He looked at me again and then brought me into another hug, this one softer than before. Warmer.
"King...I'm fine," I whispered into his chest.
"No! Why even have a bodyguard if he's not going to do his job? Why was he even away long enough for that to happen? Huh?" King put his hands on either side of my face and forced me to look up into his eyes. My heart quivered in my chest for reasons unbeknownst to me. It was my fault that the Asian man deemed as my protector hadn't been at my side, and it was my fault that I fled off without him.
"You're overreacting. This isn't professional," I said and removed his hands from my face.. I was over the roof with King's behavior. He barely acted as if he cared about the company sometimes, let alone his own employees. Between this and the recent string of events-- it was throwing me off guard. The way he was pretending to care was more baffling than anything, but my poor physical security was troubling just as well.
"Right. Professional. Grace Simmons, all about professionalism," King agreed. He let me go and took a step back. "I'm just glad you're okay. This Joonyoung guy had better start doing his job right or there'll be hell to pay," King said with an air of finality. He then exited my office quickly without looking back. I stared bemusedly at his retreating back.
***
Later that night, after work, I stood at the stove heating up a can of clam chowder. I wanted something quick and easy, so calm chowder seemed like my best bet. As I stirred the soup, Park sat at the kitchen table, tapping away on his computer. We hadn't spoken to each other since the elevator incident. He didn't even ask me if I was okay. I supposed I deserved it, after all-- he didn't have to ask how I was in the first place. Everything he had done for me so far had been a courtesy, the good human in him shining over his responsibility to protect me. After all, the man had me a coffee in the morning just to save time for my commute. If that wasn't kindness...
My eyes couldn't help but to shift over every now and again to look at his stoic form. He never once looked up at me which made me feel even guiltier. I knew why he had opted to remain silent. I just didn't know how to confront it. I was bad at admitting when I was wrong and I was wrong more than once today. I put the chowder in two different bowls and then started to add little crackers on top. I sprinkled mine in no specific pattern, but I worked extra hard on Park's. I made a smiley face in crackers and gave him a glass of orange juice. I placed it in front of him quietly and then retreated to the sofa where he wouldn't be able to see me.
I picked at my food, feeling like a horrible person and somewhat childish. I was stressed and not acting like myself-- I could barely recognize the whiny mess I was becoming. I wasn't even acting like a decent human being. I stared at my TV screen. It wasn't on, the black screen barely reflecting my sullen face back at me. I mainly had it as decoration, but looking at myself didn't do anything to cheer my mood like an episode of Game of Thrones would. I saw Park in the reflection and he realized was walking over to me. Quickly, I pretended to be absorbed in my food as he came over and sat down on the sofa beside me.
